On second thought, let's just call each other and email pictures when we have them. This blog will still be here for those of you who would like to post to it.
Love to all of you,
Karen

regression

I am thinking about going back to the paper newsletter that we used to have. This blog is kind of dead. (But thanks to Mom and Linda for trying to revive it a bit).

Here's why I think a paper newsletter is a better format for our family to keep in touch:
-Gan can stay involved, since she has no computer
-deadlines were a good thing to keep updates coming from everyone
-my impression is that (almost) everyone in our family prefers to read from a tangible piece of paper rather than a monitor

One thing that we need to change is the frequency of the newsletter. I can't keep up with once a month anymore. I propose a quarterly or biannual (or triannual, what's the word for every four months?) newsletter. If you'd all like to take turns pestering each other for family updates, that would be just fine with me, too.
Let me know what you think about this change as well as other changes you would like to see.
Thanks and I love you guys,
Karen

About girl dogs and casting aspersions

Just a comment about Linda's story: Dad sometimes sings with an Irish accent, too.

When Rebekah was about 3 years old, she and Dad went for a walk around the block. When they returned home, Bekah said, "I saw a girl dog." I asked, "How do you know it was a girl?" She answered, "Because it had long hair!"

When Matt was only about 5, he ran upstairs to tell Dad that Linda had gotten into the fireplace to play. Dad asked, "Matthew, are you casting aspersions?" Matthew answered, "No, Dad. I didn't cast her in there; she got in herself!"

Today Bethany (just turned 3 last week) was running around the house singing over and over again, "I'm not a dog; I'm not a squirrel; I'm a girl."

A Little Family History

I just spoke to Gan this afternoon. She told me a story which I recall hearing before, but did not remember well enough to recount on my own. It's a fun story and I want to record it, and I thought the family blog might be a great place for it.

When Dad was young, he was called by his middle name, Waddy, after his uncle, instead of by his first name, Tom. When he was in second grade he came home from school after their Valentine's Day celebration and announced that he did not want to be called Waddy anymore. When asked why, he poured out his bag of Valentine's from his classmates and said, "Look!" There on the cards were written, "Wooley, Whitey, Wally, Wendy..." you name it. All sorts of names that started with 'W' but not one that said 'Waddy.' And ever since he has been 'Tom' instead.

Also amusing was that having an Irish teacher with a thick accent, he read with an Irish accent himself during the second grade.

If you have family history stories you can share, I'd love to see them posted here. I know we have lots of great stories, but whenever my children ask for one, I draw a blank. Please share your stories for all of us to enjoy!

Favorite Pictures

So I just commented on Karen's post and decided maybe I'll just post a few favorite pictures from the last few months. I hope I can figure out how this blog thing works (I had a hard time with the post I did last year).

Look what I can do! Chuck's sister, Cerah, showed me how to do this braid on Adaline back in June, but I thought I'd never be able to do it. Finally in August I tried and was successful. After the first time going out with this "do" Adaline loved the attention she got so much that she'll willingly try to sit still for her hair to be braided these days. I don't do it often, but it's a lot of fun when we do.

The kids were looking for ways to have fun while we were shoe shopping. I thought it made a cute picture. Just clowning around!

The kids planted and watered their own sunflowers this year with amazing results! We loved these enormous flowers. I had to measure them because I was so amazed- they were 11-12 feet tall!

I get the biggest kick out of Adaline's expression as she watched Chuck lick the drips off of her ice cream cone. We got homemade frozen custard from a local place after FHE one night.

I just love this picture because it's a classic. It's like the one on the book about motherhood that mom gave us a couple yers ago, but this was not staged.

Maybe I'm not as much of a ludite as I thought! That wasn't so hard after all!

Oh, how I love Conference weekend!

This blog has been abandoned for a long time, so I don't expect anyone will read this. But can I just say how much I love General Conference weekend? I mean, even with all of the kid noise and minor squabbling (ok, and some major squabbling). I love it. I love the leaders of our Church. When people say that they are "out of touch", I really have to wonder if they've ever heard them speak. And the choir sang "O Divine Redeemer" this time. Ah. It was good. It is worth watching TV for 4 hours each day of the weekend. Not many things are worth that.

Is Everyone Ready to Party?

I'm not sure if anyone is checking the family blog anymore, since we've all been such slackers about posting. But we're in the home stretch for the family reunion this weekend, and in the midst of all the laundry/packing/cleaning that needs to be done in order for us to leave town, I'd just like to share some of the enthusiasm that is running rampant at our house in anticipation of this great event.

Topher: "Is my friend (interpretation: cousin) Jacob going to be on the airplane?"

Mom: "Yes, he will be on the airplane once we get to Utah."

Topher: "Oh ye-eh-eh-eh-eh-ah!" (accompanied by fist pump)

Hope you are all as excited as we are!

Greg Needs to Stop Making Other Guys Look Bad

OK, a lot of time has passed since I last posted anything, but I couldn't let this go by without sharing it with you all. Back in December, Greg really wanted to have a party for our 10th anniversary. But Maggie was still pretty little, and life is always hectic around the holidays, so he decided to put off the party for a little while. Since my birthday is in February and Greg always feels a little blue during the winter, he decided it would be the perfect time the throw a 10th Anniversary/Bekah's Birthday/Get Rid of the Winter Blues Party. He had everything almost completely planned in his mind before we ever talked about it, and I just helped him execute his vision.

Greg really loves a good party, so we ended up with about 60 people, a DJ, a game room with projection TVs and Wii game systems, tons of food, and even a chocolate fountain. I don't think we've had anything even close to it since our actual wedding receptions 10 years ago. And then he surprised me with a video that his cousin helped him put together, which made most of the other men there tell him to "stop making them look bad in front of their wives". I tried to upload the video, but the size limit was 100 MB, and it turned out to be 103 MB. If I figure out how to shorten it or split it in two sections, I'll post it eventually. But it's about time one of us posted something!

2008 in Review- Kind Of

So I am finally getting around to contributing something to the blog. Part of my delay has been due to the fact that our pictures have been in such disarray. But I had a couple reasons to spend a little time organizing some of our digital picture files this weekend, so I thought I'd start by posting some of my favorites. Nothing in particular, just a partial (very partial) year in review for us for 2008. Hope you enjoy the photos and someday I'll get around to posting again and will be able to make it more interesting next time. I enjoy everyone else's blogs so much, I guess it's time I contribute something.

Myrtle Beach May 08

Peter Pan, Captain Hook & Tinkerbell

Halloween 08

Happy Kids July 08

November 08

Seth James Meeker

Seth was born on Thursday, October 30 at 12:12 am after a very long (for me) labor. He was 7lb.6 oz. and 20.5 inches long. Still pretty big for 3 weeks early. I'm glad I was induced early this time.
He's had jaundice, so he's been under bilirubin lights for the past week and the other kids are beside themselves because they haven't been able to hold him as much as they would like. But he is such a good baby and does so well even though he has to spend most of his day under something that glows like a fly trap. Frankly, the lights are driving me a little nuts. Now, to the pictures!


We thought the nametag at the hospital was funny. We don't think Seth is creepy at all, though.

Halloween

Here are our two unkempt vampires, Snow White and Pocahontas. The kids had fun at the ward Halloween party and then trick-or-treating. And they've been so nice about sharing their candy. What great kids.

Fall Pictures

We went to the gardens at Jared's office a few days before Seth was born and took fall pictures of the kids. They turned out really well. Good job, Jared. The weather has gotten very cold very fast, so I don't know what we'll do about Seth's fall picture. We may have to settle for an indoor one.

Back to School

The kids went back to school almost 4 weeks ago, but I am cutting myself some slack for being so late posting this because I'm pregnant. My brain is functioning very s-l-o-w-l-y right now.

The girls like to lay their clothes out the night before a big day. You can't see in the picture, but they even have socks tucked into the bottom of the pants. Crazy kids. I thought it was also pretty funny how they made the shirts holding hands.


Here are all the kids before we headed out the door. Laurel was so excited that she couldn't pull off a normal smile. All of the kids have been really excited about walking themselves to school this year, and I'm not complaining either.

Megan actually started a week after Laurel and Ben because the kindergarten teachers like to interview all of their incoming students the first week. Jacob was really mad that he didn't start school this year, but we started going to story time at the library again, so he has forgiven me.

He also sneaked (snuck?) the camera off of the counter and took lots of pictures of his feet with toys. This one was actually in focus.

Maggie is here!

Margaret Ann Dunkley was born Wed, Aug 20th at 12:29 pm. She was 8 lbs, 7 oz and 22 inches long. We arrived at the hospital at 7 am for our scheduled induction, and I had already started to dilate (a pretty sure sign that she would have been born that day anyway.) After starting the induction at 8 am, Greg and I walked the halls for about an hour and then the doctor broke my water. Things moved along pretty smoothly until about 11:30, when I had dilated to about 8cm. For the next half hour, the contractions were pretty intense, but didn't produce much change. The baby seemed to be a little posterior, so they had me try some different labor positions to encourage her to turn. After another half hour, that seemed to do the trick. It was a good thing that they had set up for the delivery at 10:30, because she came out on the first push! Her face was quite bruised from coming out so quickly, and most of the nurses who saw her were initially concerned that she wasn't breathing. After the first day, most of the purple had faded.
Here is Maggie's curly hair after her first bath. She pretty much slept through the whole thing.
And this is pretty much how she has looked since then. She is a good eater and a good sleeper, and she loves her binkie! We are excited to have our new little girl home with us, and we are all enjoying her sweet disposition. She already has her dad wrapped around her finger. After such a quick and easy labor, I feel great! It's probably a very good thing that Mom is here to help out, or I would probably be overdoing things. But with Grandma around, I get to take naps and showers and eat yummy healthy meals, and the kids are having a great time. We seem to be making the transition to 4 kids quite well, at least for the time being! Hopefully it keeps going this well after Mom goes back home in a week.

Anna in the News!

Anna wrote about a recent pizza delivery experience on her blog that has gotten a WHOLE lot of attention here in Utah. She was even on the news last night. The above picture is courtesy of the Salt Lake Tribune.

My Run In with the Majority Leader in the Utah State Senate
I won't tell you his name because I'm afraid it could get me in trouble. Maybe this post could get me in trouble even without his name. Probably not, though, because there's only, like, 20 people who read my blog, and half of them don't live in Utah. But you won't have trouble finding this guy's name online if you're curious.

Work tonight was uneventful as usual, until my second delivery of the night. I show up at this pretty house with a 3 car garage and lots of expensive camping equipment airing out on the front porch. A boy, maybe 12 years old, answers the door, asks the amount, and yells it to his parents who are in the kitchen. I pull the pizzas out of the bag as the father walks out to me.

"Can you take a check?"

"I can't take a personal check. We accept business checks, but not personal
checks. Sorry."

He gets huffy. "Well, then you can take your pizzas back."

I'm thrown off a little. At worst people are a little annoyed that they can't pay with a check, but no one has ever told me to take their pizza back. I don't really want to go back to the store with $30 worth of pizza wasted. (It wouldn't have been entirely wasted--the employees would have eaten it for dinner, but Nick wouldn't have charged us for it, so it would have been a loss to him.) I'm deciding what to say, but he doesn't wait for me.

"Look, I'm the majority leader of the state senate, I've lived in this house for 30 years, and I've never bounced a check." He's gruff. I am uncomfortable, my eyes pleading, but I say nothing.

"Do you know what that means? I'm a public figure. If I bounced a check, it would be all over the papers. I'd lose my reputation!"

My jaw drops as though I will say something, but I can't figure out what words are supposed to come out. He starts to walk away. "If you don't have cash, you can call the store and pay with a debit or credit card, and you can still have the pizza," I manage.

"What's the number?" He sounds angry enough to become abusive at any moment. Even taking my anxiety disorder into account, I believe this is a rational fear. "Who should I talk to?"

"Whoever answers the phone will be able to help you," I say, assuming he is just going to pay the bill. I give him the number.

The phone call: "I'd like to speak to the manager...Good. What's your name, ma'am?...Oh. What's your name, sir?...My name is _____. There's a nice young lady here who says she can't take my check."

From the tone he's been using, I'd never have guessed he thought I was a "nice young lady" or even a human being with feelings.

"Look, I'm the majority leader in the state senate..." etc., everything he told me.

"No one told my wife you don't take checks when she made the order."

I was not about to step in and tell him I took the order and had given her the option of cash or credit, saying nothing either way about checks. Luckily, the wife spoke up and said what I was thinking. She and her daughters were clearly embarrassed.

"Look, I'm a CPA, so I know a check is the same as cash."

Yeah, if it's a cashier's check.

"Where are you from? I'm from Chicago. You're probably from New York, right?"

How is this relevant?

"You're from Massachusetts? We're both Easterners."

Since when is Chicago considered the East?

"Then you must understand that a check is the same thing as cash. I'm from an old school of thought and I'm a CPA, so I understand that a check is as good as cash...Yes, I understand--trying to build a business and everything, but it's all money in the bank...Yes, you can talk to her."

Mr. Logical Fallacy hands me the phone, and I'd like to say, "Nick, I'm sorry I sicked this long-winded bastard on you," but I just say, "Hi, Nick." He tells me I can take the check as long as the man shows me his driver's license and I write the license number on the check. I hang up the phone and tell Mr. Impressive Title what Nick said.

Taking the phone back, "What's that number again?"

Why is he still pissed? He's getting his way. I really hope the restaurant's not busy right now because Mr. Doesn't Know When to Stop has been keeping Nick from making pizza or doing anything else for several minutes, and who knows how long he'll talk this time.

The second phone call: "Nick? This is ____ again. I'm going to give you my American Express number, and pay for it that way."

Huh? Why have I been standing in this guy's front hall for the past 10 minutes?

"Look, why should I give my credit card number and the security number on the back when some unscrupulous business owner could make fraudulent charges on it?...A check is the same as cash--"

Again? Really?

"--but with a check you get the amount I give you. Don't you know what someone could do with the account number for a card with no credit limit?"

1) Is he accusing Nick of being a corrupt business owner? I thought people were supposed to distrust politicians, not the other way around. 2) Is he bragging about his credit?

An embarrassed daughter emerges from the kitchen and tells me I can put the pizzas down if they're getting heavy. I thank her, but hold on to the pizza. Somehow, having the boxes in my hands is giving me a sense of security. Without them, I would feel naked and vulnerable.

Mr. Ridiculously Pissed Off gives Nick the credit card number and angrily reiterates everything he has already said in both phone calls. After he hangs up, he takes the pizza from me. "This isn't your fault. You've been very professional about this."

Since when is staring uneasily at the pizza boxes I'm holding considered professional? Whatever.

"I'm sorry about this," he continues, but he still sounds like he's stifling profanity with great difficulty.

"Oh, no. I'm sorry for the confusion and inconvenience." Let's end this amicably. I turn to the door.

"Hold on just a second."

Ah! I just want to get out!

"Does anyone have any cash? I don't have any. Someone have a couple bucks?"

One of his daughters comes up with $2. Crappy tip, especially after making me suffer through that ordeal.

Aren't politicians supposed to be charismatic and stuff? I guess it doesn't matter what they're like in their private life. Maybe it should matter. Needless to say, now that I am registered to vote in Utah, I will not be supporting ____, current Majority Leader in the Utah State Senate. If you live in Utah, I hope you won't support him either. He is obnoxious and prideful. He argues illogically, citing irrelevant details as some sort of proof. I suspect his overly aggressive and defensive behavior masks some insecurity. But what do I know?

Nesting

So, over the last couple of months I have been hit with a major case of nesting. I think that this is the first time I have really felt this instinct because this is the first time I have not had to move 4-8 weeks after giving birth. Since I haven't had to pack, I have had to find other ways to keep myself busy.
I started out by working on the outside of the house--we repainted the exterior and got grates installed over our basement window wells.
Then I got the new nursery furniture set up and the baby's room decorated. The kids helped me get out the new car seat and stroller and have spent the last several days putting dolls in the car seat and crib and calling them "Baby Maggie."
I finished making a special blanket for the baby (not that she will need it much in the middle of August) and working on some baby gifts for James and PJ's and Karen and Jared's new arrivals. No pictures, though--I don't want to ruin the surprise!
I washed and organized all the baby clothes and put them away. And before Mom came, I made sure that I got a chance to paint the office and get it organized so she would have somewhere to stay.

There are still a few items on my "to do" list, but they will have to wait, since my induction is supposed to begin at 7 am tomorrow. Somehow, balancing my checkbook never quite made it to the top of the list. But it will still be there when I get home. And so will the newest member of our family! I will be sure to post some pictures of Maggie soon.

Hawaii

Jared and I celebrated our 10th anniversary a little early this year since we'll have a 1 month old baby in December for our real anniversary. The stars aligned for our trip to Hawaii; we got bumped to first class for our flight from San Francisco to Honolulu because the flight was full and then upgraded to a convertible for only $10 more a day. It was pretty nice.

Here's Jared in the fancy car:


The view from our hotel in Waikiki (notice the dog surfing):


On the ferry to the Atlantis submarine (it was fun, but Jared saw more when snorkeling):


And, of course, the fire eater at the Polynesian Cultural Center:


We had a great time. A million thanks to Mom for watching the kids for the week. I'm sure it was tiring, especially since Jacob accidentally slammed the door on her toe the first day and she was in a walking cast the whole week. Yet, the house was still cleaner when we got home than when we left. Amazing, Mom. Thank you, thank you.

CUL-DE-SAC OF FIRE!!

Music! Pyrotechnics! Third degree burns!



The first year we lived in our house, our neighbors invited us out for "cul-de-sac of fire" on the Fourth of July. Since then, we have been contributing fireworks and man-power to this annual event, and inviting more of our neighbors over. It has gotten to be a pretty big deal around here. And a pretty impressive fireworks display. No, we haven't had any burn victims and hope to keep it that way.

We may not have Blue Man Group or Miley Cyrus like Stadium of Fire, but we do have free popsicles. Come visit us for the Fourth sometime; it's much better in person. In the meantime, I'll see if I can make the video of the finale a little smaller so I can upload it.

Megan's birthday

Megan turned 5 on Wednesday. She has been asking how close her birthday is for about two months, so she was so pleased that it finally arrived. She was upset that she had to wait to open her presents, but was very excited and appreciative once she was allowed. She feels like such a big girl. Now if we can just get her to stop sucking her thumb...

Busy Week

We've had a busy (and fun) week. Last Saturday we went to the carnival at Orem Summerfest. The kids had a great time. Most of the rides were just for kids, but we all went on the ferris wheel together. Jared and I there proved ourselves to be big ride wimps. We were both holding on for our lives. Although, in our defense, they were running it really fast to get more people through the line.

Laurel and Jacob on the pirate ride.


Megan and Ben on the same ride.

We have also been doing out summer "field trips" because we really, really need to get out of the house sometimes. This week was the aquarium.

Here's Jacob checking out some anemones.


And everyone in front of the jellyfish tank. It was dark, so I couldn't quite tell when they were ready for the picture, hence the weird faces. I also searched for a sign to see whether I could even take flash photos. I found it right after I took this picture. I was really worried that I had traumatized the jellyfish, but then I realized that jellyfish don't have eyes. So they're probably ok.